Taking Chances
by Charmedfan90
Summary: Noah Puckerman took a chance with Rachel; Rachel Berry took a chance on being with someone with a heavy past. Will their relationship survive?
1. Chapter 1

Rachel Berry frowned; it had been a very strange week. Finn had actually quit Glee for football, Noah Puckerman had quit football, and Quinn Fabray had been taken off the Cheerios. She looked towards the football field, and saw Noah on the benches. Their relationship had definitely changed over the past week; instead of a slushie to the face, he had finally stopped the reign of terror on her. He looked so down, and before she knew it she was sitting next to him on the bleachers. "Do you miss it?" she questioned.

Instead of the direct hell no she expected from him, he replied, "Yeah...I'll miss it," he said, turning to look up at her. "I...I know I only started being nice to you because I wanted in your pants," he couldn't believe he was being this honest with her; it wasn't how he worked, "but after this week of hanging out with you....I...I think its what I have been looking for," he reached out for hand, and she took it. "I know...you still have some feelings for Finn, but-," she shook her head.

"After...after what he pulled for almost throwing a slushie on Kurt..I have lost respect for him," she said, squeezing his hand. "And...I know I am not as pretty as Quinn..."

"That's not true," he whispered, "there....there is another reason why I look at her," he said, and he let go of her hand. They were all being honest with each other, "I...I'll understand if you want to leave after you hear this...its just been trying at me for a while," she just nodded her head, and felt that this was a really tense subject. "Quinn...we kinda had a one night stand. That...that baby inside of her isn't Finn's," he expected Rachel to perform one of her natural storm outs. He swallowed the lump in his throat, "I..I tried to tell her that I would be there for the baby, but she is dead set on making sure that the baby is to be Finn's; she didn't want the baby to have a Lima Loser as a father...."

"You aren't a Lima Loser," Rachel assured him, "and as....shocked as I am to hear, I am still willing," she assured him. Before she knew it, his arms around her. Her arms went around his much bigger body, and she suddenly felt sure that she was making the right decision. He never knew that Rachel could be this understanding about something like this.

"Thanks," he said, pulling away slightly. He kept his arm around her, and saw Coach Tanaka getting at the people who actually showed up. He winced as he saw Finn there, and decided that now wasn't the time to watch him. "You wanna get out of here?" he questioned, and she nodded her head. He looked down at his watch and grimaced. He forgot all about picking up his little sister; the one important thing he promised his mom that he would do. "Shit," he murmured to himself.

"What?" Rachel questioned, as they continued to walk from the football field.

"Forgot about picking up my sister," he murmured guiltily. He wiped the guilty look on his face, and tried to retain his Puck cool. "Well..."

"I can come and be your alibi," she said confidently.

"You sure?" he asked, suddenly shocked. Not a one of his previous "girlfriends" ever wanted to meet his family.

"Yeah...I don't mind at all," he shook his head; he must be dreaming. Who knew Rachel could be this kind? He only seemed to notice the cool confident Rachel that was a star; not this new Rachel that had appeared. Before Rachel could open up the passenger door, he went over to her side, and opened it for her. She could see the appeal that the girls and cougars had of him. If they were going to continue this, she thought to herself, he needed to stop sleeping with the cougars. "Noah..." she whispered softly, "you...you aren't going to be doing those things for the Cougars anymore are you?" she couldn't stand that thought. She wanted something, and she knew that something wasn't coming from Finn. He made that decision when he didn't stick with Glee; or when he used her all those times to get her on his good side again. Puck saw the worried look in her eyes, and reluctantly placed his hand on hers.

"I am not going to do that anymore..." he whispered. She smiled brightly, and decided to break the tension like he had done this whole week.

"You wanna make out?" she asked, and that brought a smile on his face. He pressed a kiss on her lips, but pulled away.

"I gotta pick up my sister," he reminded her, "but we can make out later," he said with a wink. It was strange, she normally didn't fall for antics like the ones Puck pulled on people, but she felt like he had changed for the better. He hopped into the front seat, and turned the ignition. Before peeling out of the parking lot, he looked at her, "You...you sure you want to do this?" he asked. She nodded her head, and he pulled the car into reverse. "Why are you being so understanding about this?" he asked, running a hand through his streak of hair. "Most girls wouldn't even stick around at the mention of responsibility never mind taking care of a kid sister,"

"I understand...and I'm ok with it," she said.

"Thanks Rache..." he murmured. "I really wish I had gotten to know you before I decided that throwing slushies at you," he admitted aloud.

"Can't change the past..." she told him.

"But I can make sure that no one else does that to you again," he said darkly.

"You can't beat every person that does that..." she sighed. He just grunted in response, and continued to drive. "I'm sorry," she murmured, looking away from his face.

"For what?" he asked, softening the tone of his voice.

"For making you feel you had to choose between Glee and football," she said. When he got into a stop light, he looked at her. "As much as I love Glee...I know some people don't really want to be a part of it," He shook his head, and planted a kiss on her lips, effectively shutting her up. "Ok..." she said to him, and he gave her a cocky grin. When they arrived at the elementary school, Puck groaned. It was some sort of open house type thing today. Rachel saw the signs and just nodded her head, "Its ok...I can wait," she said, reaching into her purse to pull out some sheet music. Puck shook his head; there was no way he was going to leave her in the car. He reached behind them, and pulled out his football jacket.

He opened his door, and went to the passenger side, "Come on," he said, offering her the jacket, "Its cold outside," She walked out of the big truck, and he helped loop her arms through it. He grinned lightly seeing her in his jacket. She took a light hold of his hand as they walked into the elementary school.

"Thanks..." she murmured. "You sure that your sister is going to be ok with this?"

"I hope so," he said lightly, "Granted I haven't brought a girl home before...just expect a little awkwardness at first," he murmured. He took a deep breath as he got in front of his sister's class. There were plenty of people there with their kids, and from the looks of it, this was a second grade class. Puck's eyes scanned for his little sister, and they started walking over to her. "Hey Alex," he said, letting go of Rachel's hand. "I know Mom promised to be here...but she got-,"

"I know," she said, pushing her glasses up. "I understand," her eyes went over to Rachel, and she gave Puck a questioning look, "Who's this?" she asked.

"This..." he was never one for labels, but for Rachel's sake said, "is my girlfriend Rachel,"

"Hi," Rachel said, reaching out to take her hand, "Its nice to meet you,"

"You too," she murmured reluctantly back, briefly shaking her hand. Ever since their dad left, Puck had to play Daddy to his little sister. He had a job, he showed up to most of her of school functions, but never had the drive to do something for himself that wasn't short term. Alex knew that he was stressed out lately, but there was something different about him. He seemed happier, and more at ease. "We really don't have to stay here," she said to him.

"Alex..." he said in a serious voice, "you know Mom wanted me to stay and talk with your teacher,"

"I know..." she sighed.

Rachel pulled Puck aside, "What time is your Mom getting back?" He shrugged his shoulders, and she frowned. "Well..I'm going to tell my Dads that I am going over your place tonight, and I'll make you guys some food,"

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah...that way your Mom gets food when she gets home," Rachel said, "go ahead and go with your sister. Get your things done," he pecked her lips, and pulled away. Rachel walked over to one of the benches in the area and pulled out the sheet music for Glee. When she looked up for a moment, she saw one of Puck's rare smiles on his face before him and his sister entered the classroom. He looked good smiling. Maybe the two of them could work as a couple.

Before she knew it, they were out of the meeting. She put away her sheet music, and readjusted the big jacket on herself. She liked feeling warm like this; it was definitely better than the sweaters she normally had on. "Wasn't that painful was it?" Puck asked his little sister, as he felt his hand working its way over to Rachel's.

"No..." she groused. "I just wish Mom was here every once in a while,"

"I know..." he murmured to her. "Since its Friday, you can stay up and wait for Mommy to get home ok?" that made her seem happier, and she had more of a bounce to her step. "So...what do you want to eat for dinner?" he asked, as they started to make their way to his truck.

"I don't know..." she said, "my friends have dinner with their families...I wish we could just have a family dinner..." she pouted, and Rachel thought of an idea.

"Well...if its ok with your brother, you guys can come over to my house...Me and my Dads love to cook," she offered to them. Alex had a grin lit up on her face, and she turned excitedly to Puck.

"Can we please go?" she asked, hopping up and down. "Please Noah?" she asked.

"Alright," he groused, "you sure your Dads are going to be ok with this?" he asked, as he helped his sister up inside the truck.

"Of course it will be alright with them," she said to him, "you know where I live?" she asked, as he also helped her up into the truck. He nodded his head; he had helped a lot of people egg her house back at which would have been only a few weeks ago. Puck was starting to feel bad for all the wrong he had done to her and all the other members of Glee club. Maybe over time he could make it up to them over time.

"Noah..." Rachel murmured, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "You ok?" she questioned. He nodded his head, and turned on his car. He looked over towards her, and let a smile grace his features. He hoped his mom found that alright; it was definitely not the norm for him.

"Yeah...I'm ok," he said, "just thinking about stuff,"

"What kinda stuff?" Alex questioned, bouncing in the seat lightly.

"Are you buckled up?" he asked sternly, and she nodded her head. He lightened the tone of his voice, "I don't know....adult stuffs,"

"Mommy said that you was just a teenager and not an adult yet," she said in a completely innocent voice. Puck just shook his head, letting his little sister live in ignorant bliss. She was still a kid, and doesn't even remember the father that left them so many years ago. He did though; it still hurt really bad to keep the memories. If his sister wasn't right next to her, Rachel would have taken Puck's hand as he drove.

"And Mommy also says that without me, life would be so much harder," he pointed out, making her quiet down. Rachel pulled out her cell phone, and texted one of her dads to let them know that they would be expecting company, and to make some extra. She then realized that she didn't have her car. He stopped at the school and headed towards the parking lot. Apparently he was thinking further ahead than she was. "You are sure-,"

"Yes I am sure..." she said to him. "I'll see you guys in a couple minutes. She hopped out of the truck, and thought that Puck would have driven off, but he stayed. He wanted to make sure that she got to her are alright. As she walked towards her car, she saw that Finn had gotten out of football practice. She was hoping that he would just ignore her. She was still very furious with the boy who she used to have the biggest crush on.

"Rachel?" Finn questioned, heading towards her. She hurried her pace, and got her keys out to unlock her car. "Rachel wait up!" he called out. She shook her head angrily, and unlocked her car door. Puck saw her face, and realized that something was up.

"Alex...do you want to drive with Rachel?" he asked, giving himself a good enough alibi to have him step in and interrupt Finn. She nodded her head, and they got out of the truck.

"I know you are mad still, but I have some news..." he started.

"Rachel!" Puck called with something else in his hand. She gave a sigh of relief as Alex and her big brother approached them. "You forgot your sheet music!" Finn looked at his best friend and the girl he had some feelings for. "And Alex wanted to ride with you," he motioned to his little sister.

"Sure hop on in kiddo," she said as she unlocked the passenger door. Alex waved at Finn before going towards the seat. "Finn we are kinda busy tonight, so we got to go. Noah...I'll meet you at my place ok?" she questioned before taking the sheet music from him, and placing a kiss on his lips. He grinned into the kiss, and stroked her hair before pulling away. Rachel mouthed thank you to Puck, and backed out and headed towards the house.

"What the hell is going on?" Finn asked, storming over towards his friend.

"Me and Alex are going over to Rachel's for dinner," he said through clenched teeth.

"That isn't what I meant and you know it," he growled, "you know that Rachel is off limits for your sexcapades," he was breathing heavily.

"Are you kidding me? You know..." all the pent up cool that Puck had set up for himself shattered at this point. Instead of being happy that he actually had a relationship, Finn was yelling at him. "You are supposed to be my best friend, and even you think that I am lower than the damn ground," he got in Finn's face, "I am not a loser," he groused, "and I will treat Rachel right," he ended with that, and went back to his truck. He gunned it away from the school and towards the Berry's place. He shook his head, and tried to calm down so he wouldn't be in a horrible mood when he got there. When he got there, Rachel was waiting outside waiting for him. "What's Alex-,"

"She is doing her homework in the house," she assured him. "Just wanted to shake off what happened in the parking lot," she said to him. After seeing the look in his eyes, she hopped up from her seat. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Whatever he said is bull," she assured him, and felt his hands lay on top of her waist.

"He thinks I am just going to use you and then throw you out," he told her. "You know I am not going to do that right?" he questioned. Rachel nodded her head, and buried her body against his. "Thanks Rache," he murmured. He grinned at her, and pulled away lightly. "I'm sorry, don't mean to be down...so lets go inside," he said. She nodded her head, and hoped that her dads won't make a scene.

_Alright going out on a limb here to see how I do with this particular fandom. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the first chapter. As a warning right now, my new job is demanding so I may be only updating a few times a week (maybe) anyways, let me know what y'all think. _


	2. Chapter 2

Noah Puckerman fidgeted nervously as he saw Rachel chopping up vegetables. He was just used to getting his family some takeout and maybe once in a blue moon when there was enough food in the house for him to cook something. "What?" she questioned, as she shrugged off the Letterman Jacket from her shoulders. "I don't want to ruin your jacket," she said as she draped it over a chair. He smiled at that notion, and frowned. He saw Alex doing her homework; more like attempting to do her homework.

"Hey kiddo," he said, looking down at her homework. "Math isn't fun is it?" he asked as he picked up her pencil that she had dropped, "but it isn't too bad," he started to show her to count with her fingers and subtract.

"Thanks Noah," she said happily. She scrambled to get done with her homework, because Rachel had promised to let her use the TV if she finished her homework before dinner. "Rachel promised to let me watch TV if I finish,"

"Sounds like the deal at home," he said to her, and ruffled her hair lightly. He felt useless just standing there doing nothing, but he didn't have that much culinary skills. From the looks of it, Rachel had plenty. He went behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He felt her stiffen at first, and then she rested against his body. "Whatcha making?" he asked her.

"Just making a quickie homemade marinara sauce," she said. "We got spaghetti in the pantry over there," she said to him, gesturing with her head. He unwrapped his arms from hers, and walked over to it. He grabbed a couple boxes, and saw that Rachel had started to fill up a big pot of water. She attempted to lift it up, and Noah hefted it up for her. "Thanks," she said, "usually one of my dads help me with that part,"

"No biggie," he murmured. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" he questioned.

"Nope," she said softly, "just have to wait ten minutes for the pasta and sauce to cook up. Its not too bad," she touched his shoulder, and led him over towards the TV. "Alex..you done with your homework?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, putting her stuff in the backpack. "I can watch anything I want right?" she questioned. Rachel handed her the remote, and let the young girl channel surf. In the mean time, Rachel felt content with laying her head on Noah's shoulder. She was surprised when she felt one of his arms run across her shoulders, drawing her close. This felt normal for the first time; she had never actually envisioned this when she was around Finn, but with Noah it felt like it was meant to be instead of a silly crush.

"Hannah Montana really?" Noah groaned as his sister settled on that channel.

"I like Hannah Montana," she shot back at him, excitedly looking at the TV. Rachel shook her head; she was always sad that she never had a sibling. Seeing her boyfriend, and his sister reminded her of that. "What about you Rachel?" she asked, moving closer to her.

"Its..." she tried to find the right word, "entertaining," she thought that the singing was a bit mediocre, but all in all had a good message for the younger crowd. She looked over at Puck who seemed to be terrorized by the sight in front of him. He didn't want to say anything to make his sister upset, but didn't wipe the grimace on his face. "Hey Noah...I think the pasta is about done. Wanna help me strain it?" she questioned. He immediately shot up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. Rachel followed him there, and before she could say anything his lips were on hers.

"Thank you," he murmured into her mouth. He pulled away as the timer went off and grabbed onto the big pot. She placed the drainer on the sink, and he dumped the pasta into it. He set the now empty pot on a cool burner. He was about to grab the strainer off of the stove, but the door opened up. He swallowed back a lump that was lodged into his throat. He didn't want to tell Rachel about being nervous about meeting her parents; he never stuck around to meet anyone's parents. The only parent he knew outside of his Mom was Finn's mom.

"Rachel?" Alan Berry called out. Noah felt his palms sweat lightly, but seemed to calm down when he felt Rachel's hand wrap around his.

"In here Daddy!" she called out, "dinner is just about ready," she said to him. Alan walked back in, and saw his little girl holding a boy's hand. He took a deep breath, and calmed himself down. Rachel was growing up; of course she was going to have a boyfriend at some point. Seeing as the guys in the room weren't going to step up and introduce them. "Daddy...this is my boyfriend Noah Puckerman," she took a breath, "Noah this is my Daddy Alan,"

"Nice to meet you," Noah said softly, reaching his hand out to shake. Alan took his hand and shook it; it was definitely not the boy that Rachel had pined over forever.

"You too," he replied, "so how did you and Rachel meet?" he questioned. He definitely didn't want to mention the whole slushie incidents, but was relieved not to have to have Rachel relive those memories again.

"We met in Glee club," Rachel covered, "he has a really magnificent voice," she said, "and he knows how to play the guitar," she said, and that seemed to relieve her worried daddy, and he smiled in approval, "and he is also on the football team," she said, placing a hand on his jacket. She wasn't sure if he was going to be on the football team still, but he seemed glad that she acknowledged it.

"Wow...it seems like you got a lot going for you," Noah relaxed; he seemed to be in good with one of her dads; now he just needed to get the other dad on his good side. "And who's that?" he asked loud enough for Alex to hear. Instantly the TV turned off and Alex went hiding behind her big brother. She buried her head into his waist.

"Alex," Noah murmured, "its ok..its just of Rachel's parents; be nice ok?" he gently grabbed her hand and she reluctantly walked over to him. "This is my little sister Alex,"

"Hi," she said shyly. Alan grinned down at the little girl, and bent down to her level.

"Hello," he said, "its very nice to meet you," she giggled, and Noah shook his head at his sister. He stood up and walked over to Rachel. "Dad is working late tonight," he said, "so its just us," he gestured to them. As they sat down for dinner, Noah felt his nerves go down a bit. Alan didn't ask about his family life, and for that he was glad. He may have been comfortable enough to talk to Rachel about it, but wasn't sure about her father.

"Well...I'm going to turn in early," he said, "if you go out, don't stay out too late ok?" he said, kissing her gently on her forehead. "It was nice to meet you Noah, and you too Alex," he said before heading upstairs. Rachel grabbed a big piece of Tupperware and put what was left of the spaghetti in it.

"Are you sure? What about your dad?" he asked gently.

"Dad already got food if he is out this late," she said, "besides, your Mom can enjoy it," she said. She grabbed onto his jacket; she really didn't want to let go of it. "Here's your jacket," she murmured softly. He shook his head, and kept it pressed to her hands.

"As much as I hate turning in my other football gear, that is the one thing that I was allowed to keep since I paid for it," he said softly. He had never wanted to give his jacket to anyone before, but Rachel was a special occasion, "Besides," he said with a chuckle. "I think its time for me to carry on the tradition of boyfriends giving their girlfriends their letterman jackets. I want you to have it," she grinned and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks Noah," she said. As she pulled away, she looked down at his little sister. She was sleeping peacefully on her couch. "Looks like Alex was tired," Noah chuckled and nodded his head. Seeing as it was chilly still outside, she grabbed a hold of the Letterman jacket and pulled it on. She loved the big sagging warmth of it, and was glad to a see a sparkle in his eyes seeing her in his jacket. She grabbed onto the leftovers and followed Noah to his truck. She wished that the night didn't have to be over; it was sad seeing him leave. Once he had Alex tucked into the passenger seat, he grabbed a spare blanket from the back, and covered her.

Before she could say that she wished he didn't have to leave, he asked, "I know I am not going to be doing anything tomorrow; there's no pools for me to clean tomorrow, and I just have to turn in my football gear. Do you want to go out afterwords?" she nodded her head enthusiastically, and pressed her lips against his.

"That sounds amazing," she said. "Just give me a call in the morning alright?" he nodded his head, and held her for a little bit. A small part of him still thought that it was a dream, but feeling her against him forced those thoughts out of his head. He nodded his head, and kissed her gently once more. "See you tomorrow," she mumbled.

"Yeah," he said, finally drawing away. He took the offered leftovers and got into the driver's seat. As he drove off, he saw that Rachel was still watching him go until he left her neighborhood. He grinned and turned on the heater so his sister wouldn't get cold. After about twenty minutes of driving, Alex woke up. "Hey munchkin," he said, lightly ruffling her hair. "It was getting late,"

"I didn't get to say goodbye to the Berrys," she complained softly.

"We can visit them soon," he promised, "but by the time we get home we will be able to see Mommy," that made her content once more and tugged the blanket more comfortably around her.

"I like Rachel," she said, "she's a lot nicer than that Santana girl," she said grimacing about his ex.

"Yeah....yeah she is," he agreed with her.

"You...you aren't going to leave her like Daddy left Mommy are you?" she asked sadly. Noah barely contained the yell forming inside of him. He hated when his sister asked questions like that. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He continued the mantra _I am not my father, I am not my father_ keep going on in his mind. "Noah...did I make you feel bad? I'm sorry," tears started to come out of her eyes.

"Oh god," he grunted, "no...you didn't. Don't worry," he said, patting her knee. "And to answer your question," he said with a sigh, "I am going to try my very best to keep Rachel with me," he promised. "Its okay," he said as her sobs turned to sniffles. Soon they were at home, and their mom pulled in at the same time. Rebecca Puckerman looked in surprise.

"What are you doing home so late?" she asked, and saw his little sister bundled up. She hopped out of the car, "Hey pumpkin," she whispered to Alex.

"We...we were at my girlfriend's house," Noah murmured.

"Not that Santana girl-,"

"No...its a girl named Rachel! She's pretty and nice, and let me watch tv, and is a good cook-," she started to ramble. Rebecca shook her head, and looked at Noah as her little girl continued to babble. "And she didn't even complain when I was watching Hannah Montana like Noah does," Rebecca laughed, and ruffled her hair.

"We brought some extra food home," Noah said.

"So what's this Rachel girl like?" she asked; she was hoping that for once her son had found someone that wasn't a slut or a cooped up housewife.

"I'll tell you in a couple minutes...she should get to bed, and you should shower," he said. "I'll heat this up for you, and I will tell you about her," she smiled, and placed a kiss on his forehead. He was glad that his mom was easy going about this. He walked over to the microwave, and started to heat up the food. His mom was down in a couple minutes, and she looked at him.

"I know you don't like it when I bug you about the people you date..." she started.

"You just want me to be safe," he said, "and I...I think I will be," he murmured, "I am tired of hurting people all the time; you included," he felt her arms around him, "Mom please don't cry," he said, hugging her tightly.

"Please...please tell me about her,"

"Well...I met her in....in Glee club," he started and continued before his mom could interrupt, "she is a really good singer; and..." he sighed, preparing himself for a squeal of happiness from his mother, "and she is Jewish," She squealed happily, and hugged her son again.

"Thank you honey," she whispered, as she went to the food. "So...are you going to football tomorrow?" she asked.

"I got kicked off the team...went to Glee instead of football, and Tanaka kicked us off," he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Its ok," he said, "really...I'll be fine," she nodded her head, and closed off the box. She put it in the fridge. "Get some rest ok Mom?" she nodded her head, and went towards his room. Before he went to bed, he turned on his computer. He saw many of Rachel's videos, and all of them were spammed with spiteful comments. He went down the list and felt his anger spike up. When he thought he hated Rachel, he thought that a slushie to the face was bad. These people were horrible. He typed lightly on the computer,_ You did a great job Rache...don't let those people bring you down,_" he closed off from myspace, and crawled into bed, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a long while.

_I know it is probably out of character still, but I am trying. Anyways, I hope you enjoy :)_


	3. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Quinn Fabray was in a horrible mood. Her hormones were on overdrive, the baby kept kicking her bladder, and Finn was being nothing but annoyingly supportive. Then the thing that had set her off to make her already horrible day into a a nightmare was when she saw all her Cheerio friends fuming about something on a Myspace page. She walked over to them, and her eyes zeroed in. Noah Puckerman was defending that loser Rachel Berry? She didn't say anything, she stormed away from them, and saw him at his locker. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Well Quinn," he said, "I am throwing some books in my locker and then I am heading to class," he said sarcastically. He took a deep breath, and let out a sigh, "What is it Quinn?" he asked a little more softly. "Is it about the baby?" he asked more concerned now.

"No...I am wondering what the hell you are doing with that nobody Rachel Berry?" she questioned giving him a pointed glare. "Even if she is just another Lima Loser, you have no right to go screw over someone else over!" she whispered sharply.

"I'm not-," he started, getting irritated.

"Oh you are," she growled, "the fact is you did what you did to me, and I rejected you. And now you have to sink even lower of the food chain of school just to make yourself feel better," she grunted.

"That's enough Quinn!" he snapped at her, "You need to realize; I never cared for you. We were both a little drunk, and you need to realize that what we did was a mistake. I am not going to hear anymore about how the big mean old Puck took advantage of you. It was mutual at the time; and now whether you like it or not, I'm the baby's father, not Finn. I am here and willing to help my child, even if all you want is to give it up," he slammed his locker shut, and stormed away from her, leaving her to dwell on the things she had done over the past few months.

Noah couldn't believe that Quinn thought that low of him still. After all this time; quitting football, joining Glee, getting people to stop throwing slushies at Rachel. What else could he do to convince the people around him that he wasn't the asshole he portrayed earlier in the year. He was so upset with the world, that he thought that nothing was going to make this school day better. He thought that until he saw Rachel Berry walking towards him, wearing his jacket. Tanaka had given in and changed the Thursday that they normally practice Glee to a Wednesday practice so that the activities could be participated by everyone. He grinned at her; thinking about the weekend and Rachel trying to teach herself about football from the internet, just so she could try to understand more. Keeping that in mind, he walked over towards her, and enveloped her into a hug. "You know...you look really good in my jacket," he murmured into her ear.

His voice didn't have the usual eager tone in it, and worried Rachel, "You ok?" he nodded his head, and pulled away from her. Normally she would harass him until he opened up, but after noticing the look in his eyes she nodded her head. "So...there's a football game tonight?" she asked, lacing her hands into his, "I'll be there," she promised, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Awesome," he said to her. "Has anyone been bothering you?" he asked. She shook her head, and sighed. "Rachel..."

"Its fine," she said adjusting the big jacket around herself. That's when he noticed her hair was tied back, and certain parts of the hair was wet. "Noah...its ok," she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Who..." he started, "who slushied you?" he growled, feeling his anger build up.

"It doesn't matter," she said to him.

"Was it someone on the football team?" he questioned.

"Noah," she said, "I don't know who slushied me," she said, "and I don't care," she said softly. "Its not you doing that anymore; it never really was you doing those things, not the you that I have gotten to know," he relaxed lightly at that comment, but was still feeling bad about the slushies.

"I'll try not to hold onto it," he finally sighed.

"Thank you," she said. "You are sure you are ok?" she asked him as they headed towards their classrooms. Lucky for them, their classes were right next to each other.

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Can it wait till after school?" he questioned, "after the game?"

"Yeah...well...I'll see you at lunch," she said softly.

"Don't worry about me so much ok?" he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. Rachel couldn't focus on her class; her thoughts kept drifting back towards Noah. She hadn't seen him look that down since he admitted about him being the father of Quinn's baby girl. Soon as class was over she walked over to Noah. His arm went around her shoulders, and brought her close. As they started to walk away from the school building and towards the parking lot, Noah saw some of the football guys with slushies. They stopped walking towards them, with a look of confusion across their faces. "Unless you guys are drinking those," he warned darkly, "Lay off my girl; and anyone else in Glee for that matter," it seemed like forever since he had to threaten anyone. This was a personal matter, and he was furious about the fact that people were still doing that.

They really didn't want to listen to them, but all in all even with Noah being in Glee, he could influence most of the team in some way. They backed off, and Noah felt himself shaking, and felt a calm sweep over him as her hands went up and down his back. Before he could apologize, her lips went on his cheek, "My hero," she murmured, and that brought a smile to his face. She thought that of him already; it was nice to feel that way from someone else that wasn't his family. "I'm just going to go home, and then I'll come back to watch you play," she promised.

"I can't wait," he said to her. They went their separate ways; and Noah couldn't help but feel a little bit better. A part of him wanted to quit football completely, and just focus on life for once. Not keeping up a tough guy image all the time, and just being around Rachel had been kind of uplifting. Unfortunately things between him and Finn hadn't gotten better. At this point and time, he really wasn't expecting it to. Especially if Finn ever found out about the true paternity of Quinn's baby. He shook his head; just focus on the game.

As Rachel Berry walked over to her car, she was once again met by with Finn who was heading towards the football locker room. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said, readjusting her backpack on her shoulders. She never realized how awkward it was going to be with Finn. She knew he had some feelings for her still, but she had been hurt too many times to fall for him again. "Look...I am going to go home and wash this slushie off me," she started.

"Puck threw a slushie at you?" Finn asked in a concerned voice.

"What?" Rachel asked shocked; so much for being Noah's best friend, "No it wasn't him. If you had taken notice at all, he hadn't been throwing slushies on me for the past few weeks. For someone who claims to be his best friend, you really do have a low amount of faith in him,"

"You know his track record Rachel," he said, "I just don't want to see you getting hurt,"

"Well you didn't seem to care about hurting me when we were training earlier, or when you tried getting me back into Glee by that lameass date," she growled. She actually growled, Noah was having a bigger effect on her in certain areas. "Look, whatever feelings I had for you are long gone. We can be friends, but nothing more. I am with Noah Puckerman; get it through your skull," and with that she got in her car and drove off. She headed towards her house and was glad to see neither of her dads were home. They still didn't know about all the slushie incidents, but that wasn't what was bugging her. It was the fact that Noah's jacket almost got ruined. She shook her head, and took a quick shower. She got ready for the football game, and headed back downstairs. She had a feeling if she ran into one of the Cheerios that they would give her crap, but she would keep herself strong.

She left a note for her dads letting her know that she was going to the football game. She arrived at school and was surprised to see Mercedes and Tina in the stands. "Hey girl!" Mercedes called out, and Rachel walked over to them. Before she could reach them, Quinn stopped her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I am watching my boyfriend play football," she snapped back.

"Finn-," Quinn started to growl.

"Isn't my boyfriend," she filled in for her, "I'm here for Puck," she wasn't in the mood for any more questioning, "and you shouldn't throw stones when you have a glass house," and with that, she walked up to Mercedes and Tina. "Sorry about that, Quinn was just getting on my case again," with an eye roll. "I hope I am able to remember everything that is supposed to happen,"

"I am surprised to see you here," she commented lightly, "we are here to support Kurt," she explained as she kept an eye out for their friend.

"I'm...I'm here to support him as well," she started, "and I am here for Noah," she said.

"Wh-wh-who?" Tina stuttered, and that is when the other two girls noticed that she was wearing Noah Puckerman's jacket. "Puck?"

"When did this happen and why don't I know?" Mercedes asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Friday...and I wasn't sure how everyone would take it," she sighed, "but I don't care. For the first time in a long time, I feel really happy,"

"That's good," Tina managed not to stutter. They fell into silence as they game came on. She saw Noah looking into the crowd, and a grin lit his face as he finally saw her. She let out a cheer, and waved at him. He waved back, and went back to focusing on the game. Rachel could practically feel the death glares from Quinn, seeing as Finn hadn't done the same. Soon the game was over, and they had actually won. Rachel had left the other girls and headed down towards the field. "Noah!" she called, and he stopped his walking. He felt her arms wrap around his neck. "You guys won!" she squealed, and he pressed his lips tightly against hers.

"I made sure we won it..it was for you," he couldn't help but say. For once in his life, everything was going his way. He was surprised to feel her so close to his body; most girls hated the sweaty football smell.

"You did great Noah," she murmured against his lips. She could practically feel the glares from most of the Cheerios still. She knew that it was going to be a rough road ahead of her. The ever pregnant Quinn was still giving her shit, and Santana was the head of the things against her now. She couldn't help but sink closer into him. He had never been good at comforting girls, but just held her.

"Rache...you ok?" he questioned, giving her a squeeze.

"Yeah I'm fine," she lied, and he could tell.

"Look...I'm going to go take a shower, and then we are going to talk ok?" he questioned. She just nodded her head, and let out a sigh. She felt a pair of hands go onto her shoulders. "Hey guys," Rachel said, knowing it was some of her friends from Glee.

"You okay?" Kurt asked, and Rachel nodded her head. Most of the Cheerios had left, and she felt a little more at ease. "So...you and Puck huh?" he asked, and Rachel turned around. She sincerely hoped that she wasn't going to be questioned or have her boyfriend's intent be put under question again.

"Yes," she said simply. "And I am not in the mood to hear about the things he has done in the past. No matter what everyone else is saying; he has changed,"

"O-o-ok," Tina stuttered.

"We believe you," Mercedes said to her. "Its just strange you know?" Rachel nodded her head, and brought the jacket closer to her, inhaling Noah's scent lightly. Before she knew it, Noah Puckerman was heading towards her. His arms were around her once more, and he greeted her friends politely. As much of a badass he was while he was at the school, he was starting to feel guilty about the things he did to Kurt and the rest of the people at New Directions. One day he will convince them that he wasn't that asshole anymore. "Well...we are going to head out, have a good night you two,"

The group left, and it was just Noah and Rachel again. They slowly headed towards the parking lot, and when the arrived at her car, she felt herself slipping. It...it was ruined. The tires on her car were slashed, windows were busted, and slut was written over the windshield. "Rachel..." Noah murmured, "Come on...we can call someone to tow your car ok?" he murmured.

"But..." she started, but felt his arms tugging her away from her car. She just nodded her head, and got into the passenger seat. The Myspace comments and the slushies were one thing, but this thing was worse; much worse. "Why..why would anyone do that to me?"

"Oh honey," he murmured, bringing her closer as he drove towards her house. They arrived at her house, and Noah helped her to the front door. It opened up and Alan looked at his daughter's stricken face.

"What happened?" he questioned.

"Someone trashed Rachel's car..." Noah explained for her, "I thought it would be best to get her away from it," he explained. Richard; Rachel's other dad walked in. "I'm sorry Mr. Berry...I really wish I knew who did this,"

"You did the right thing Noah," Alan said. "We are going to get on the phone with the insurance company..." Rachel led Noah to her couch, and they sat down for a while. Her dads were on the phone with insurance and were getting her car towed.

"What time do you go to school?" Noah asked her, stroking her soft curls.

"Usually an hour before so I can catch up fully on homework and such," she replied, "Why?"

"I'll come pick you up," he promised, "and don't bicker with me ok?" she just nodded her head.

"You really need to leave don't you?" she asked him, and he sadly nodded his head. He pressed her lips softly against, and sighed. "Thank you so much Noah,"

"You're welcome," he murmured, placing his lips on hers again. "I'll see you in the morning; don't worry. I'm going to keep you safe," she smiled, and walked him to the door. As he left, she couldn't help but sigh. She wasn't even in the mood to do a video, but it was something she always did. As she scrolled through her I-Tunes playlist until she found something she was in the mood to sing. It wasn't something she normally sang, but it fit the moment. She was going to come up strong. And as the music started; _Hit me with your best shot_, Rachel thought to herself. She will still come up on top.

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Just like he promised, Noah was there bright and early to pick her up all week. Things between them had been amazing, but she was still feeling more unsafe than usual. She didn't have to fear slushies to her face, but now damage to her property; it was scaring her. She couldn't even focus at Glee, and Mr. Shuester noticed. He heard about what happened to her car, and was tempted to have her see Emma Pillsbury. "I am ok Mr. Shue, really," she said to him, "lets run it one more time,"

"I don't have time today, but you know that the choir room is open for a while after school," Mr. Shue said. "That's a wrap," she let out a sigh. Noah walked up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. She relaxed against him, feeling safe once again. He wished that he could do more than just hold her to make the fear go away.

"I'm ok Noah," she murmured.

"No you're not," he whispered back. "Is there something you want to do to get your mind off things?" he asked. She didn't know; it was bad enough that she could barely sing on key at the moment. She shouldn't have been so shaken up, but she was. "I am going to go pack up my things...I'll be right back," he murmured. She nodded her head, and pecked him gently on the lips. He walked over towards Kurt, Tina, Artie, and Mercedes. He had no idea how to talk to them about anything, but besides himself, they were the ones who seemed to know Rachel best. His fists were shoved deep in his pockets, and he managed to grunt, "Can I talk to you guys?"

Although they were reluctant, they quietly made their way out of Rachel's hearing. "I know...you guys don't think altogether highly of me from my actions in the past, but I am worried about Rachel," he murmured. "And I am trying everything I can to try and make her feel a little more content again...."

"We can at least attempt to help," Artie said, surprising everyone. Besides him, Noah always used to get at Kurt by throwing him in the dumpster all the time. It shocked Noah more when the rest of them nodded their heads.

"Rachel's favorite musical is West Side Story," Kurt supplied, "maybe we could pop that in and just hang out,"

"We all know how Rachel is about parties," Mercedes said, "that girl has some issues when it comes to people, so we should probably limit it to just us," she said, gesturing to the small group. Noah nodded his head, and felt awkward still.

"You-you-you really care for her don't you?" Tina asked nervously. Noah nodded his head, and felt himself relax slightly. He was glad that they were being so forgiving; only a few of his football friends talked to him after joining New Directions.

"So...what are we planning on doing for Rachel?" he asked, looking towards his girlfriend.

Mercedes and Kurt gave each other a look, and they moved over to Rachel. "Hey...we were thinking of doing some sort of movie night at my place," she said, "and I know that you own West Side Story on DVD..." and instantly Rachel was in.

"Sure...I'll just have to talk to Noah-," she started, and Kurt shook his head with a smile. She was still the diva she was when she first walked in, but she had changed certain aspects so she seemed more human. "This...this was his idea wasn't it?" she questioned Kurt. He nodded his head, and she headed over towards her boyfriend. Noah had packed up his guitar, and saw Rachel heading towards him.

"Hey...I was just coming-," before he could finish his sentence, she threw her arms around him.

"Thank you," she said; she knew how nervous Noah had been around with certain people at Glee, but here he was. He just grinned, and brought her close to his body. It felt nice to act more like himself instead of Puck. "So...where we doing this movie thing?" she questioned.

"I don't know...where do you feel most comfortable?" Noah questioned, gently swaying with her.

"I guess my house...if that's ok with everyone," she said to everyone as they came closer. They seemed alright with going over to her house. "Just follow Noah's truck okay?" she requested as they started to head out of the classroom. Finn and Quinn were outside discussing something, and each had a look of shock on their faces as Puck was hanging out with them. Finn kept thinking about what Rachel had told him about not being a very good best friend, but Quinn seemed to hate him. If she wasn't pregnant, he could try and talk to her about it, but she was. She was so hormonal, that it gave him a headache.

Quinn grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and dragged him away from the group. "Quinn, what's wrong?" he questioned as they walked further and further from them. "Is there something wrong with our baby?" he mumbled worriedly.

"No..." she started, "I'm....I'm just not feeling well," she said to him; she just didn't want her boyfriend near that horrid Rachel Berry. "Can you please take me home?" Finn nodded his head, and wrapped an arm around Quinn. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about Rachel as much as he was; it wasn't fair to Rachel or Quinn; or even Puck. She didn't want Finn to find out about the mistake she had made with Puck.

Meanwhile Noah was driving Rachel home, and felt his cellphone buzzing. He saw that it was his sister's elementary school. "Hello?" he questioned, letting go of Rachel's hand.

"Mr. Puckerman?" the school receptionist questioned.

"Yeah...is something wrong with my sister?" he questioned.

"No...its just that the after school care is canceled today...we can hold your sister for a little bit. Can you or someone else come get Alex?" she questioned.

"I'll be there in a bit," he sighed, hanging up his phone. "Rache...I have to go pick up my sister.."

"I...well, ok," she murmured as he pulled up in front of her house. "Are you guys going to come back?" she questioned.

"Of course..." he said, "you didn't think I would?" he questioned.

"I just...just don't want you to do anything you aren't comfortable with," Rachel breathed. Noah took a deep breath, and tried to remember that this was Rachel's first serious relationship. Things were going to be different than any of the Cheerios or Cougars; which he found out wasn't exactly a bad thing.

"I will be back with Alex as soon as possible," he assured her. He pressed his lips against hers once more before getting out of the car to open up the passenger door for her. She nodded her head, and waited for the rest of the Glee club sans the rest of the Cheerios or Football players. She smiled when she saw the rest of her friends pulling up to her house; her dads were going to be happy to finally see her have friends over. That thought actually made her quite happy.

Noah drove as fast as he could to his sister's school; Alex would be happy to hear that she was going to come to Rachel's with him. She hadn't stopped babbling about her ever since the first night they met. He kept thinking about the look on his Mom's face whenever he talked about his girlfriend; she seemed genuinely happy. She still hadn't asked to meet the girl in question yet, but Noah knew that she wanted to. Maybe he would ask Rachel later that day if she wants to meet his mom. He knew it wouldn't be a mistake like when he had introduced Santana to his mom. Before he knew it, he was at the school. "NOAH!" Alex exclaimed, running up to his truck. He chuckled, and opened up the passenger door. "I had such a good day at school today!" she yelled, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"I'm glad Alex," he said to her, "but before you tell me anymore, can you buckle up?" he asked, "we are going somewhere,

"Where we going?" she asked, completely forgetting about her school day.

"We are going to go watch a movie at Rachel's," he said, making sure that she was buckled in completely before driving once more.

"Really?" she asked excitedly. Noah laughed, and nodded his head.

"You'll meet some of my other friends too," he said to her, and that prospect seemed good to her as well. "Are you going to behave?" he asked as they approached Rachel's neighborhood. She nodded her head, and Noah parked his car in front of her house. As he opened up her passenger door, "Do you have homework?" she frowned at that note. "You know the rules,"

"Ok Noah..." she said, sadly grabbing her backpack. He ruffled her hair lightly, and they walked to her front door. Rachel had the blinds open, so she saw them walking up. She opened up her door, and pressed a kiss to Noah's lips. "Ew...you guys are kissing,"

"Hey..." she murmured against his lips, trying not to chuckle as she heard the ew coming from Noah's little sister. She pulled away, and bent down to her, giving her hug as well. "How are you today Alex?" she asked, as she let them inside.

"Good..." and then she saw the rest of Rachel's friends. Alex instantly got nervous and buried herself between Rachel and Noah.

"Its ok..." Rachel said to her.

"They are nice people honey," Noah said, bending down and picking her up. Seeing Noah like that; it reminded her of when she was Alex's age. Noah treated her like his daughter. It must have been hard on him raising his sister with his mom. "But if you too nervous we can stay out here," she shook her head, and pulled out her homework.

"I'm a big girl," she said to him, as she started her homework, "I'll finish my homework, and then meet your friends,"

"Ok," he said, ruffling her hair again. "You want a snack?" he asked, and she shook her head pulling out what was left of her lunch. "I'll be in there with Rachel and everyone if you need me ok?" he questioned. She nodded her head, and Noah went over to Rachel. She leaned against his side, and felt an arm go over her. "You alright?" he asked her.

"We'll talk later," she promised; she knew that he didn't want anyone else to know about the true paternity of Quinn's baby. She wrapped an arm around his waist, and started to lead him to the living room where the TV was. He wondered what was bothering her, but decided not to press it. Stick with the original plan, and wait for her to come to you Puckerman, he thought to himself. The movie went on, and halfway through, he heard his sister walk into the room.

"You all done with your homework?" he asked. Before she lost her cool, he introduced everyone, and she instantly sat on the other side of Noah, burying her face into his shoulder. "Alex...its ok," he said to her, "they are very nice people; they are my friends," As the movie went on, Alex felt herself relax. Soon she was back to her normal bouncy self, babbling to their friends. Noah seemed relaxed for the first time in a very long time, and Rachel was glad. Now that he was relaxed, she felt herself relaxing as well.

"We really got to get going Rachel," Mercedes said, "me and Kurt were planning on doing something,"

"Its alright you guys..." she said, giving each of her fellow Glee members hugs. "See you guys at school tomorrow," she walked them to the front door, and they left. It was nice to actually have friends; actual ones that stuck around. She closed the front door, and walked over towards Noah. He was just relaxing on the couch with his sister at his side. "You are a good big brother," she observed, and he looked up at her.

"Sometimes I am," he said, seeing as she was napping once more. "I know...on certain days...I act like him. Even though she doesn't remember much...I know every once in a while..." he trailed off. Rachel went over to him, and ran a hand through the line of hair he had. "Rache.." he mumbled.

"You are not your dad," she whispered. "Your dad left; you haven't," she murmured.

"There...there has been times that I wanted to ya know?" he questioned. "But I can't. I can't leave my sister and my Mom like my Dad did," he said. She gently pulled his sister aside, and made him stand up and away from his sister's ear shot.

"I know you are worried about your own kid," she didn't want to get Noah mad at her, but this needed to be said. "I have been looking into lawyers...primarily in paternity cases," she said.

"You what?" he questioned, pulling away.

"I know you are probably upset, but I found some lawyers that would be willing to help you if you wanted to look into them..."

"Rache...I don't have that kind of money," he said softly.

"With certain cases..." Rachel said, "especially like yours and Quinn's; since she wants to give up the baby for adoption, you can talk to her about it. Maybe we won't have to get them involved," she said.

"Rachel...I appreciate you looking into them for me," he said to her, "and maybe in a few days I will talk to Quinn. Thanks Rachel..." he couldn't help the feeling that was slowly starting to form inside of him. He couldn't dare utter those words that he only said to his mother and his sister; not yet anyways. Before he could fully lean in and kiss her, he heard his little sister scream his name. They ran into the room, and he picked her up. "What's wrong?" he asked, holding her tightly against him. "Shh...its ok," he whispered into her hair.

"I thought you ran away from me and Mommy..." she cried into his shoulder.

"No....no," he whispered, "Don't worry Alex..." he murmured, feeling tears enter his own eyes. "I am not going to leave you...." he promised over and over again. He let out a sigh, and made her look at him, "It was just a nightmare,"

"What about Rachel?" she questioned, rubbing her face with her hands. "What if you break up with her and we won't see her anymore?" Noah let out a sigh; he was going to have to try and break it to her gently. There was no way he was going to ask her to do something like that.

"Even if me and Noah break up, I will still come see you ok?" she promised, readjusting her glasses on her face. Alex nodded her head; seeming content once more. He wrapped an arm around Rachel, bringing her close to his body.

"I...I want you to meet our Mom," he said after a moment. "She has a day off in a couple days...maybe you can come over?" he asked.

"Don't be so nervous..." she said, "of course. I would love to meet her," Noah felt himself calm down; hopefully this will show his mom that he is willing to change. He really cared for Rachel, and was glad that she was feeling the same. He just hoped that nothing was going to happen to them.

_I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter :)_


	5. Chapter 5

Noah Puckerman sighed as he headed back towards his house. Tonight was the big night; where Rachel would meet his mother. She would probably go on and on about her actually being Jewish, and even though he had explained it to Rachel, she said she didn't mind. "Noah...you are really nervous aren't you?" she questioned. "If...if this is too much for you to handle we don't have to do this tonight..."

"No..its okay," he said to her, feeling a hand wrap around his. "I know I won't disappoint you...and I know that my mom will be proud of me..." he said softly. She squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. "Thanks for doing this Rache..." he smiled back finally, "it means a lot to me and my mom," He felt a little more at ease, and knew that this one night he could keep himself at peace with his mom. He wanted to keep his baby, even if Quinn wanted to give her up. Finn told him that Quinn was having a girl. He kept that out of his mind for the moment, and felt content once more.

"Of course Noah...I really care about you," she said.

"I really care for you too," he admitted; Rachel knew the truth about the paternity of the baby. She cared for him, and even though she was upset about the baby, she still wanted to be apart of his life. There wasn't really anything he could hide from her anymore; there really wasn't anything he couldn't tell her. They arrived at his small house, and he started to lead her towards the front door. "Last chance...." she pressed a kiss to his lips, and smiled at him. He opened up the door, and the site before him shocked him. The whole house was clean; sure he tidied things up but this was the cleanest he had seen it in a long time. "Mom..." he called out, as his fingers brushed over Rachel's shoulders. She was wearing his jacket still; that made him happy. She had a dress on that went a little below the knee; she was dressed conservatively, but she still looked sexy to him. His Mom came out in her church clothes, and she walked over.

"So this is Rachel?" she questioned. "Hi...I'm Rebecca Puckerman," she said to him. "Noah talks about you all the time," she said to her. Noah gave a pointed glare to his mother, but Rachel just gave his mother a hug.

"Believe me," she said to him, "My dads get annoyed with me all the time because all I do is talk with Noah," she said, and that brought a grin to his face once more.

"Noah...why don't you show Rachel around?" Rebecca suggested, "just keep your door open ok?" she commanded lightly. Noah rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. She just wanted him to respect this girl. Lucky for her, he already respected his girlfriend; not pushing her into anything, and respected what she has wanted to do.

"Will do Mom," he told her, as he showed Rachel around. "I know its not much-," he started.

"Its home," she filled in for him. "Where's Alex at?" she questioned, surprised that his little sister wasn't hanging around.

"She went over to one of her friend's houses," he explained. "Mom thought it would be better if it was just us," he didn't care either way. He stopped the tour, and wrapped his arms around her, "I like her thinking..." he murmured, covering her lips with his. In the back of Noah's mind, he knew that Rachel hadn't gotten really far with anyone. He opened his mouth halfway, giving her a chance to back out if she needed it.

"Noah..." she murmured against his lips, "I'm sorry," she apologized, breathing heavily.

"You don't have to apologize," he said to her, "I am more than willing to go at any pace," he promised, pressing her closer to him.

"Just give me a bit of time?" she questioned, "and maybe a little practice when there isn't any parents around," she said with a wink. He was glad that he was able to bring out the playful side in her; it definitely suited her better. He led her to the kitchen, and saw that his mom had cooked her famous lasagna. She was very nice and courteous, but Rachel could tell that she was holding back all her questions. "Mrs. Puckerman...you can go ahead and ask me anything you want..." she said, and Noah held back a groan. Under the table, Rachel patted his knee. As his mom continued to question her, he felt himself relax. He should have known that Rachel would have been fine with talking about her life.

"You are a very nice young woman," Rebecca said. "Unfortunately I have to get up early for work...but it was very nice to meet you," she pulled Rachel into a hug, "Noah, you behave yourself around this young lady ok?" Noah nodded his head, and led his mom to the stairs. He walked back to Rachel, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Your mom is very nice,"she said. "Sorry if we embarrassed you," she apologized, placing her hands on his chest. He just shook his head; it didn't bother him at all. He placed a kiss on her lips, and felt her come closer to him.

"What time do you have to be home tonight?" he questioned as he pulled his lips away from hers.

"Eleven thirty at the latest. I still have to go do my homework," she said. "Have you thought about the lawyers?" she questioned. His smile came off of his face, and he sighed. "Sorry...wrong time to talk about it. I'm still willing to help if you want me to though," he nodded his head.

"Thanks for caring so much," he said to her. "I still haven't told my mom about what happened with Quinn," he said to her. Before she could try to console him, his cellphone started to go off. He saw it was Finn.

"Its ok..." she said to him. He really didn't want to talk to his friend, but he flipped open his phone.

"Hey," Noah said gruffly.

"Look..." Finn said; he didn't sound great, "I know we haven't been on the best terms, but I really could use a friend right now. Quinn's in the hospital..." he started. Noah's hand tightened on the phone. Finn told him what hospital he was at and Noah hung up the phone.

"Rache...Quinn's in the hospital. They think something is wrong with the baby," he said. Rachel just took his hand, and started to lead him towards his truck. He numbly got out his keys and he started to head towards her house.

"Noah...do you want me to be there?" she questioned, as she slung the jacket on her shoulders. "Because I don't mind," she promised.

"Are...are you sure?" he questioned. She nodded her head, and he turned the opposite direction. "Thanks Rache," he said as he continued to drive. There were so many thoughts roaring inside of his head, and felt Rachel's hand on his. He swallowed heavily; if something happened to the baby while life for him was going so well, he had no idea what he was going to do.

"Noah...do you want me to drive?" she questioned, she saw him shaking his head. "Ok..."

"If...if I get really snappy, I'm sorry," he apologized, wishing that he could control the wave of emotions he was feeling. He was slowly reverting back to Puck instead of Noah and it was starting to scare Rachel as she saw it. He took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down for his and Rachel's sake. "I just can't stand the thought of losing my kid..." he swallowed heavily, and took a deep breath once more. She squeezed his hand tightly, and felt him shudder. They pulled into the parking lot, and Noah just stopped. Rachel unbuckled the seatbelt restraining her and she scooted over to him. Her hands fell on top on his shoulders. His whole body was shaking and he couldn't get himself under control. She moved her hands from his shoulders to his face, and pulled him into a hard kiss. She felt tears slipping from his eyes. He pushed his lips harshly against hers, and she was pulled into his lap. Finally after a few minutes, he forced himself away from Rachel. She was breathing heavily, "Did I hurt you?" he asked. She shook her head, and leaned her forehead against his. She wiped his tears away, and saw his Puck facade slip back on. He had to be ready for Finn, and she understood. He gently slid her off his hips. He opened up her door and grabbed her hand.

This would be the wrong time for Finn to know who the true paternity of the baby was, and he knew he had to keep himself under control. When they went through the ER entrance, they saw Finn with his head in his hands. Noah stiffened, and Rachel took her hand away from his so she could wrap her arm around his waist. He relaxed once more, and they headed over towards Finn. "Puck thanks for coming," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Rachel..." he said, trying to remain civil. Ever since Noah had snapped at him, things between the three of them had been awkward; especially at Glee. Everyone there was still civil to him, but it wasn't the same.

"How is Quinn doing?" Noah asked, trying to snap Finn's attention off of his girlfriend to focus on the girl that was currently in the hospital.

"They haven't told me anything..." he said.

"Well...start demanding for information then. Don't just sit here!" Noah snapped at him. He was angry that Finn was just wallowing. For Christ sake, his pregnant girlfriend was in the hospital. He shouldn't be weepy; he should be demanding answers. Rachel squeezed his hip, and felt himself calm down once more. Finn surprisingly took his advice and got up from his chair.

"Its about time someone got that stick out of his ass," Rachel commented. "Noah..."

"I...I can't think about it right now Rache," he murmured, sitting down on the chair. "I just can't..my child could be in critical condition...and its just so hard," he whispered softly. She sat down next to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. He leaned his head on top of hers, and inhaled deeply once again trying to calm himself down. What they didn't know is that Finn had head every word that was exchanged between them.

"What do you mean your baby?" Finn growled. "Quinn's baby is mine," he stated.

"Finn..not now," Rachel tried to stop him.

"Rachel..." Noah warned.

"You know, you are just out to ruin peoples lives aren't you Puckerman?" Finn shot at him.

"Hey!" Rachel snapped, "Leave him alone," she said unwrapping herself from Noah. "You claim to be such a nice guy, but here you are outing your best friend without even hearing his side of the story!" she shouted, poking him in the chest. Finn grabbed her wrist, and pushed her away from him. She fell backwards, and fell hard on the floor. Noah felt anger spike up as he saw his girlfriend hit the ground.  
Before he could yell at Finn, the jock hit Noah across the jaw. It didn't stop there, Noah got punches rained on top of him. Rachel got up and yelled for security. "Finn stop it!" Rachel screamed.

Finn was infuriated, but Noah was finally getting in a few punches before security pulled Finn off of Noah. "No..don't take him," she stated, "he was just defending himself," She looked at the security guard. "Anyone that saw that can clearly show that Finn was in the wrong," a lady did pop up and backed Rachel up.

"Well...we should get you checked out....in the mean time we are going to have to keep you detained sir until we can get a hold of your parents..." that seemed to snap Finn out of it, but they wouldn't listen as he tried to explain. Rachel grab onto one of Noah's arms helping the guard shoulder him.

"Noah...I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"It's not your fault Rachel," he wheezed. "I'm ok," he said to her. As they led Noah towards a room, he couldn't help but feel bad for what happened to Finn. He didn't want his friend to get in trouble for something that was indeed his fault. "If he hadn't have pushed you I would have let him just beat me," Rachel shook her head.

"What Finn did was wrong," she assured him, as they sat him down on a hospital bed. "And don't you start with that martyr bullshit. Yes you AND Quinn made a mistake, but you tried to atone for it. She blew you off. You tried to make things right; you tried to be there for your kid. This isn't just your fault,"A nurse came in and cleaned Noah up. Finn had given him a nice shiner, and his left cheek was heavily bruised. If everything Rachel had done hadn't convinced him, this would. He knew that things weren't going to be good between Finn and him, but at least he had other friends now and Rachel.

"Thanks," he said to her. "Rache..."

"You don't need to say anything she whispered, "I'm not going anywhere," she promised.

"You sure?" he questioned. "I know I am going to get a lot of shit from people now...especially if people find out the full extent. Especially if Quinn says I raped her...I just don't want anyone to hurt you too..."

"I am tougher than I look," she strove to keep the things she loved; did she just admit to herself that she loved Noah Puckerman. She wasn't going to tell him yet; she decided to wait. Noah knew that he was more than content to know that she wasn't leaving him for Finn anytime soon. Before she could say anything, Noah got a text from Quinn saying that the baby was fine. As shocked as he was about it, he didn't respond. If she found out about Finn knowing so soon after she and the baby were in danger; he had no idea what would happen.

_I hope you liked the chapter...I am nervous, but I can't wait to hear what you guys think :)_


	6. Chapter 6

Noah had been right; the first couple days had been pretty bad for both Noah and her. She got slushied more than three times that day. He had almost been thrown in the dumpster, but Matt and Mike had showed up to save him. Whatever Finn had said, had definitely spread around; just thinking of his name infuriated Rachel. As she walked down the hall, she saw Noah by his locker; she walked over to him, and felt him brighten as she wrapped her arms around him. "Hey..." he murmured, turning around in her embrace. "I'm sorry," he murmured, seeing the stains on her clothes.

"It's not your fault Noah...I am willing being here and going through this shit," she promised, giving him a kiss on the lips. She was never so sure about anything except for her becoming a star. "Try not to feel too bad ok?" she questioned. He still felt bad, and embraced her tightly. She squeezed him back, and he let out a sigh.

"You know it means a lot that you have stayed," he murmured into her ear. She squeezed him once more, and unwrapped her arms from him. She took his hands, and started to lead him away from the locker.

"Come on...lets go," she said, tugging his hands. He smirked and let her lead him to the parking lot. "School's out...let's do something," she said, and he finally laughed. Despite everything going on, here he was being happy once more. He looked around the parking lot and saw that most everyone had left already. He must have been holding on longer to her than he thought. She was going to have her car back the next day, and he had to admit to himself that he would be a little down. He had began to get accustomed to picking up his girlfriend.

"What do you want to do?" he asked, squeezing her hands.

"I don't know...movie at my house?" she questioned.

"Might want to make it my place," he said to her, "Alex gets home early today, and I would be in trouble if she was home alone," he murmured. She pecked him sweetly on the lips, and nodded her head. They went to his truck, and as per usual he opened up the passenger door for her. "You know...Alex really has been looking up to you," he said to her.

"Really?" Rachel asked him.

"Yeah, she's been listening to musicals with my mom, and started to sing while doing her homework," he said with a chuckle. "Unfortunately its mostly that Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana crap, but she loves it," he started up the truck and headed towards his house.

"Wow..." she responded; she was shocked. No one had ever really looked up to her before and she had to admit, it was a nice feeling. Her boyfriend just grinned at her lightly and laughed. "That's....that has never happened to me before," she said, "I was always to stuck up to be looked up to,"

"Not anymore," he reminded her, "besides...I am glad she finally has a sister figure. I always was like Daddy to her, and Mom was Mommy," he said, "and she is always so nervous, but ever since she met you she has been trying so hard to be brave like Rachel," he said. He looked at her again and saw a blush on her face, and her eyes were shining lightly. "Rache you ok?" he asked, and she nodded her head.

"I'm just touched," she said. They stopped at his house, and she kissed him on the lips. "Thanks for telling me that," she said. "How's your eye doing?" she questioned, lightly brushing her fingertips against the purple bruise. He winced very lightly and she pulled her hand away, "Sorry," she said.

"Its ok," he murmured, pulling his keys out from his pocket. "It feels a lot better than yesterday," he assured her. Before he could go over to the front door he heard someone calling his name. He turned around, and saw that Finn's mom was heading towards them. He felt the color draining from his face, and Rachel grabbed his hand in support. "Hi Mrs. Hudson," he said as she came closer. She looked very upset until she saw Noah's face. "I guess you heard about..." he didn't want to have to say it to her. He had viewed her as a second mother of sorts, and it was hurting him deeply that she was mad at him.

"Noah..." one of the other few people that was allowed to call him Noah besides his mom, Rachel, and Alex. "Finn told me what happened...and you know how he gets, and I have learned to take everything with a grain of salt. What happened?" she questioned. This is why he liked Mrs. Finn; she never judged until hearing both sides of the story.

"Well...I was just hanging out with Rachel a few nights ago," he started, squeezing her hand, "and Finn called me; he needed a friend because Quinn was in the hospital..." he murmured, turning his gaze away from the woman that helped raised him. "I didn't have enough time to drop her off at home, so she came with me..." Mrs. Hudson nodded her head, and folded her arms across his chest. "And when we got there, Finn went to go check on Quinn...and that is when me and Rachel started talking about the true paternity of her baby...and Finn got upset when he overheard that I was the father of her kid," he was expecting her to explode, but she didn't. "Rachel tried to stop him from hitting me and he pushed her..."

"He did what?" she snapped looking at Rachel, "I am so sorry dear, I raised him better than that," she replied.

"I only hit him a couple times..." he said, "I felt like I deserved it after what I did with Quinn...he deserves to be angry with me, and to hit me," Mrs. Hudson shook her head.

"You tried to be there for the baby?" Noah nodded his head, "and you were drunk from what Finn told me," again Noah nodded his head, "as was Quinn..." he nodded his head once more. "Just give him some time dear...you two have been so close for so long, I really don't want to see you guys part ways," Noah just repeated the motion of nodding his head. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back, and she walked back towards her and Finn's house. Noah just stood there for a moment, watching her go into the house. He reached out and wrapped Rachel in a tight embrace. Her hands went up and down his muscled back. Noah didn't want to say anything just yet, he was just trying to calm down.

"Its going to be alright...." she murmured, softly running her hand through his mohawk. He pulled away, and unlocked the front door. He walked inside, and went towards the living room.

"I don't have much here..." he said softly.

"Noah stop it," Rachel said, "no matter what you think, you did the lesser of two evils when it came to Quinn. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything..." she whispered. He shook his head, and moved over to the couch, closing his eyes. Rachel sat down next to him, and laid her head down over his heart. It was beating quite fast, and she placed her hand over his chest as well. He relaxed after a couple minutes of silence, and covered the hand on his body. He brought her hand up to his lips, and placed it back to where it was. She inhaled deeply and felt his arm drape over her body.

"I'm sorry Rache," he mumbled, "ever since my Dad left, I always blamed myself, but I am trying to change the way I think...I don't want to push you away," he said, "or anyone else...not anymore," he admitted out loud.

"Lucky for you, I love a challenge," she said kissing him on the lips and burying herself closer to his side. "And because I-," she stopped herself, and then looked down away from his questioning gaze.

"You what?" he questioned, squeezing her gently. He smiled softly, and he knew what she was about to say. "You know that I love you too right?" he questioned, making her turn her gaze back up to his. He gave her a heartwarming grin, and she pressed her lips against his. The only people she ever said that she loved was her fathers. "Its okay if you don't want to say it back..." he said, running his fingers through her long locks. His fingers lightly drummed against her hip, and she pressed her lips against his neck.

"I love you Noah," she murmured against his skin, blushing lightly. She meant it, and he knew that she meant is as well. He drew her in closer, and inhaled the vanilla scent that she seemed to have around her. As his fingers ran through her hair, she felt herself being lulled into sleep.

"Its ok Rache...you can take a nap," he said, pulling her fully on top of him. He draped a blanket over their bodies, and felt her inhale deeply. It was a nice feeling; having her in his embrace. Before he knew it, she was sleeping. Her hands clutched at his shirt, and she buried herself deeper into his chest. He wondered if she was still having nightmares. Noah hated that she was still getting those, but suddenly she was relaxed again. Maybe with him around she felt safer? He closed his eyes, and drifted to a light slumber, but woke up when he heard the front door open up. In came in Alex, and she saw that Noah and Rachel were sleeping. Before he could greet her, she adjusted the blanket on them, and sat down in front of the TV and started her homework. Noah smiled, and brought Rachel close once more before dozing off.

"Noah..." Alex, said poking his forehead, "I'm hungry, and Mommy is staying at work late tonight," he opened up his eyes, and saw Alex poking Rachel too. She opened up her eyes sleepily, and raised her head off of his chest and Noah laughed when he saw an imprint of his shirt on her face. Noah patted her head gently.

"Hey...you can stay asleep," he murmured, gently lifting her off him. She shook her head, and went to a sitting position. "Well...okay..." he said to her. Noah turned to his little sister, and bent down to her level. "Did you finish your homework?" he asked her. She nodded her head, and hugged Noah. He chuckled and squeezed her back. "Alright...lets see what we got in the kitchen," he said, pulling away. "You can go ahead and watch TV," he walked to the kitchen, and frowned. No one had gone food shopping in a while, and they didn't have much. With his pool cleaning business he had some money, but most of that went towards gas and the occasional date with Rachel. She always offered to pay multiple times, but he wanted to treat her right.

"I want pizza," Alex called out. Noah looked on the calendar, and he bit back a groan. He always managed to squeeze some money on the side so he could treat her to Peter Piper Pizza or something. While Noah was trying to think of what to do, Rachel pulled out her wallet and walked over to him.

"Noah...its my treat tonight," she said, "please don't fight me on this. I think we all deserve a night of fun, and it would mean the world to your little sister," he looked towards his little sister and sighed. "How about next time you can pay, but seriously I don't mind ok?" she said, kissing him softly on the lips.

"Ok," he murmured into her mouth. He wrapped an arm around her and they walked to the living room. "Alex...go grab your coat," he said. Alex turned off the TV and jumped over to her brother. "Where do you want to eat?" he questioned. Rachel didn't say anything, she wanted her sister to think that her brother paid for it. "You said pizza right? What pizza place do you want to go to?" he questioned, kneeling down to her level.

"Peter Piper Pizza!" she exclaimed. Noah laughed lightly and ruffled her hair. She jumped up and down excitedly, and ran for the front door.

"Alex...aren't you forgetting something?" Noah questioned as he stood up to grab his and Rachel's jackets. Alex turned around, and saw his hands holding jackets, and then she looked towards where she left her jacket. She ran over to it, and quickly put it on. As soon as Noah shrugged into his jacket, and helped Rachel with hers; he bent down to Alex and helped her zip up her jacket. He looked over to Rachel and smiled. As they walked outside, they saw Finn taking out the garbage. Alex, not knowing about Finn waved excitedly at him. Finn waved back, but before she walked over to him, Noah grabbed her arm. "Come on lets go get dinner..."

"Can we ask Finn?" she asked innocently.

"No...no I think Finn has to do things at home," Noah said to her. He knew Alex cared for Finn like another big brother; one who never said no. "Come on..." he said, tugging her hand gently.

"Okay..." she said sadly. Rachel patted her on the shoulder and helped her into the truck. Finn looked down, but didn't approach them. Finn felt really bad about what he did at the hospital, but was still upset about Quinn cheating on him with his best friend. He hadn't seen her since he had taken her to the hospital. She had been texting him for a while, and he hadn't responded. Still, he had feelings for her, even though she had lied to him. He knew that Rachel clearly had feelings for Puck, and he also knew that he had actually changed. It was time for Finn to grow up, but he needed to know the truth about what was going on.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Quinn Fabray's number.

_Alright as always, I hope you enjoy....and hopefully I will find some music to use for this story soon. Anyways, let me know whatya think :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Quinn Fabray nervously wrung her hands together as she waited for Finn to meet her at her house. She now knew that Finn knew the true paternity of her child. She was going to lose everything she worked for; she already lost being a Cheerio, she lost her popularity, and now she was going to lose Finn through all of this. She knew as soon as her parents found out about her pregnancy she was going to be shipped away to live with her aunt. She felt tears in her eyes, and she hugged her stomach. When she found out she was pregnant, she wanted to hate the baby that was inside her. All of her life it was smashed into her head that she had to perfect, had to do everything her parents way.

There was a knock on her door, and She wiped her eyes and looked in the mirror. She made sure she looked presentable enough, and answered the door. She bit her lip nervously, and stepped aside to let him in. "I...I know you are mad at me..." she whispered, wishing that she could stop the tears from coming. Finn let out a sigh; he hated when Quinn cried. He wanted to just hug her, but she had lied to him, and it had hurt. She swallowed heavily, and bit back the tears. "It was a stupid mistake...and I haven't done anything with him since Finn..." she looked down at her hands, and placed them on her stomach. "Especially after everything your mom went through with everything, I should have known better....I can understand if you want to leave after all this," That snapped Finn out of it. He hadn't even thought about leaving her; he was just upset.

Instead of saying anything, he brought his arms around her. "Quinn...I wasn't going to leave you..." he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "What kind of person would I be if I did that?" he asked her. "I know that I am not the smartest person out there, but I still want to be there for you and the baby; even if the true paternity isn't mine," he murmured. "I finally found myself a job...and can start paying those bills we haven't been paying...but we are going to need more help than what I can make,"

"So...what are we going to do?" she asked, squeezing him tightly.

"I...I think we should accept the help Puck was offering you earlier," he murmured, "because he has as much rights to the kid as you do," he murmured, "before you get all mad, think about it. He has had this job since he was fifteen; he has experience and money already,"

"No...this baby isn't going to be stuck in Lima," she said, pushing him away.

"Well, he will get a paternity test done...wouldn't it just be easier to just let him have her?" he questioned.

"I'll let him help us..." she let out a deep sigh, "I'll consider dropping the adoption things if he really wants her," she said, rubbing her growing stomach. Finn pressed his lips against hers and she sighed.

Rachel paid the bill, and looked towards Noah. He was playing an arcade game with his little sister, and that made her smile. That was the youngest she had ever seen him look in all the time she had seen him. Noah and his little sister whooped when they won whatever game they were playing. "We finally beat it Noah!" Alex squealed. He laughed and ruffled her hair lightly; his eyes searched for Rachel and he grinned at her.

"Rachel...come here!" he called out, and she walked over to them. "Come play the game with us," he said, and scooted over to have Rachel fit right next to himself and Alex. Lima definitely didn't update things very often; Ninja Turtles?

"I...I don't know how to play..." Rachel said, looking at the strange contraption.

"It's easy," he said, pointing out to the buttons. While he explained the controls, his hands lightly led hers over the controls. She laughed nervously, "Don't sweat it babe," he murmured, "its easy," he repeated and they started to play the game. At first she wasn't doing too well, but then she got the swing of things. "There we go..." Noah said, laughing lightly.

"This is fun," she admitted, and almost didn't hear the number being called saying their pizza was ready.

"I'll get it," he said, you guys keep playing," he said, kissing Rachel's cheek, and ruffling Alex's hair. As he grabbed the pizza, he saw Quinn walking towards him. He assumed that it was to get yelled at once more, and he just ignored her. He placed the pizza on the table, and called Rachel and Alex over. Quinn grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him aside. "Look Quinn...I'm not in the mood to get yelled at,"

"I...I didn't come here to yell at you," she said, "As you already know.." she said clasping her hands together, "Finn found out about the paternity of my..." she let out a deep breath, "our baby girl. And has made it obvious to me that you deserve a right to be in her life...and I shouldn't be so rash to throw her into adoption," Noah was shocked; Finn had talked her into him possibly having his little girl? Rachel and Alex appeared, and Quinn sighed, "Look...I don't want to talk about this in front of your little sister, but we'll talk later," she promised. Noah nodded his head, and she excused herself from the group.

"Who was that?" Alex questioned, tugging on Noah's sleeve.

"Just a friend," he murmured, remembering his mom had wanted to talk with him too. She may already know that he had messed up bad. Rachel grabbed onto him, and felt him squeeze back. "She...she is letting me be a part of her life," he said in awe. Rachel was glad for him, he had been working so hard to convince Quinn that he could be a good father. He hugged her tightly, and kissed her on the lips.

"Ew...you two are kissing again," Alex said as she grabbed a slice of pizza. Rachel laughed and felt Noah chuckling. He sat down on the chair, and had Rachel sit down on his lap. She grabbed a couple slices, and they dug in. After their dinner, they had some leftovers so they were able to bring back for Noah's Mom. After Alex was tucked into bed, Noah walked towards Rachel.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, grabbing her arms. She shook her head, and he said, "Bullshit," he told her. "You...you don't think I am going after Quinn do you?" he questioned. She didn't say anything, "Rache," he said, bringing her gaze up to his. "Its going to be ok, because I am not leaving you. I am not going to do that," he promised, "I meant what I said," he said to her, and she smiled. She hugged him tightly, and felt him reciprocate.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I just-,"

"Its ok Rachel," he said to her waving her apology away. He kissed her gently, and felt her relax. "You don't have to worry about that...the only reason why I care about Quinn is because of that baby inside of her," he suddenly picked Rachel up and she laughed.

"Noah.." she giggled.

"Sh...we don't want to wake up Alex do we?" he questioned as he walked them towards his room. He laid her gently on the bed, and started to lay kisses all over her face. "I love you Rache...what can I do to convince you of this?" he asked, as he started to pepper her neck with his lips. She pulled his head closer to his, and kissed him full on the lips. He laid gently on top of her, and felt one of her legs wrap around his waist. "Are you sure-?" he questioned pulling away lightly. She nodded her head, and pulled his jacket from his shoulders.

"I love you Noah...I trust you to do this," she murmured.

"I love you too," he whispered back. This was the big moment; he just hoped that he didn't hurt Rachel...

_Sorry I wanted to update this before I went to work...I know its a lot shorter than my other chapters have been...but whatever. Anyways, as always, I hope you enjoyed :)_


	8. Chapter 8

As Rachel's fingers skimmed to the bottom of Noah's shirt, he gently pulled his lips away from Rachel's, "Are you sure Rache?" he questioned in a soft voice. "I really do want to do this..." he whispered, "but I feel like I am forcing you," he mumbled softly. Rachel knew that this was the case, and he wasn't trying to stop because he wasn't interested; she could clearly feel how much he wanted her. Rachel thought for a moment, here he was more than willing to continue, but was also just as willing to sacrifice not doing it right now. "Its alright," he promised, knowing she wasn't ready to go this far. He grabbed onto her hands and brought them to his lips.

"Noah..." she said, feeling ashamed that she couldn't get over her nervousness just yet. "I'm sorry," she apologized, turning her gaze downwards. She felt horrible that she couldn't give him one thing in return for the sense of reality that she had finally gained. She was still that diva that she was raised to be, but she had more humanity inside of her that he had dug up. Feeling his warm palms on her face snapped her out of her depressing thinking. There wasn't any anger or sadness in his eyes, just love for her. He had never shown this much of himself to her, but she was glad. He didn't say anything, he just leaned in closer to her, and wrapped her up in an embrace. She sighed into his neck.

"I'm not mad at you," he reminded her, kissing her full on the mouth. "Besides..." he said, "I really want this to be special for you," he said, "Not some quickie while my Mom and sister are just a few feet away," She finally let a small smile come to her face. She felt content at this moment, and really didn't want to go home. She must have voiced out her thoughts, because the next thing she heard from Noah was, "You don't have to if you don't want to," he offered, softly brushing his hand across her cheek. She smiled, letting his gentle caresses wipe out all worry she was feeling. He turned to his back, and Rachel placed an arm on his chest. "My mom has an early shift tomorrow anyways," he yawned, "we won't get in any trouble," he promised. She just nodded her head, and closed her eyes. She felt him shift lightly, and his shirt was off. The next thing she felt was a sheet go over them, and his lips against hers. "Night Rache," Noah waited until he heard Rachel's breath shift deeper before letting sleep come for him as well.

The next morning Alex woke up, and headed towards Noah's room. She wanted breakfast, but their mother wouldn't let her touch the cereal on the top shelves, and she couldn't cook anything either. She just opened up his door, not expecting Rachel to be there. As hungry as she was, she could wait a few minutes until they woke up. She closed his door, and walked downstairs. Noah had heard his door open up, and knew it was his little sister. He didn't want to wake up yet, but after taking a look at his alarm clock, he knew he should get up. As he started to shift, he felt Rachel wake up. "Noah?" she questioned softly.

"Hey," he murmured back, kissing her gently on the lips. "Alex just woke up," he explained, "you can come down for breakfast when you are ready," he murmured, kissing her once more. Before he puled away fully he asked, "You want anything for breakfast?" he questioned.

"Surprise me," she murmured, and he nodded his head. As he walked out of the room, Rachel stretched on Noah's bed. Rachel still felt bad for putting Noah on like she did. Rachel brushed her hair back with her fingers and secured it with a hair tie. She walked downstairs, and saw a big plate of food awaiting for her on the table. Maybe she had taken a bit to get down the stairs. When he saw her, he gave her a questioning glance, concern flooding into his eyes. She just gave him a smile, and sat down. He shrugged his shoulders, if she wanted to talk he would wait until she was ready. "This looks good Noah..."

After a couple minutes of silence, Noah sat down on a chair and placed a hand over hers. "Hey..." he said bringing her gaze up to his. "You are never this silent," he observed, what's going on?" he questioned.

"Noah...of course there isn't anything wrong," she attempted to assure him, but he didn't believe it.

"Berry come on," he said in an agitated voice. She winced when Berry flew out of his lips instead of her first name. She shook her head, and stood up to her feet, "Rachel...whatever happened-,"

"Look...I need to go home," she stammered. Noah let out a deep sigh, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled his head into her neck, and she relaxed into his embrace.

"So...we going to talk about this?" he questioned, letting go of the Puck facade. He knew that he would make Rachel more upset. "Rache...what's going on inside of that head of yours?" he questioned, wishing that he could get her to open up. She turned around in his warming embrace, and looked up at him. His hands lightly massaged her hips with his fingers, and she felt herself let go of the tension. She didn't want to talk about what happened the previous night while Alex was there still.

"Not right now," she whispered. "But...you didn't do anything wrong, its just me being weird," she assured him. He shook his head and just went with it.

"I really am trying to be understanding here..." he said to her. She moved her arms around his shoulders, and pressed her lips to his. After a moment, he reluctantly pulled his lips away, and sighed, "You sure you are okay?" he asked, and she nodded her head. She let a smile come to her face, and he returned it.

"But yeah...breakfast," she said, changing the subject.

"Noah's a really good cook!" Alex's voice chirped, "not as good as Mommy's but it is really yummy," she told Rachel. Noah bent down and placed a kiss on top of his sister's head. As Rachel saw the exchange, she realized that she worried about nothing. Noah wasn't going to revert back to his old Puck self. She grinned and started to eat what Noah made for her. She knew that she wasn't going to bring up what was bothering her unless he asked again. Seeing her mood shift, Noah relaxed and grinned at her. "Noah..." his little sister whined lightly. He turned around and headed into the living room, "Can we go do something today?" she asked tugging on his hand lightly.

He rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. He was sure that they could squeeze something in, but he had wanted to talk to Rachel alone. Noah sighed; he needed to do this for his sister. She was a huge part of his life, and he knew that he couldn't disappoint her like her father disappointed him. "Whatever you want," he promised her.

"Can Rachel come too?" she asked.

"What?" he asked in a joking tone, "Am I that horrible to be around?" His sister didn't notice the joking tone in his voice, and instantly her arms were wrapped around him. "Hey..." he murmured, picking her up, "I was just kidding..." she just nodded her head. He pressed his lips to the top of her forehead. "Why don't we go ask Rachel what she wants to do?" Alex brightened up, and was placed on the ground. She ran into the kitchen, and tackled Rachel. Rachel laughed and hugged her tightly.

"Whats that for?" she questioned with a chuckle.

"Me and Noah want to do something," she said, "but we don't know what to do...what do you want to do Rachel?" she questioned. Rachel chuckled and thought for a moment. She wasn't sure what they could do.

"How about you go look online and see what movies are out," she suggested, "While I go talk with your brother," Alex nodded her head enthusiastically, and ran to her computer. Noah walked in and gave her a small smile. Was he still worried about her? She wrapped her arms around his waist, "I told Alex to go look at movie times," he rolled his eyes, knowing she would pick a kid movie. "So...about this morning," she murmured, "I'm sorry that I worried you," she said to him. "I was just thinking about what almost happened last night, and I felt terrible,"

_Sorry for taking forever to update...I have re-written this chapter a dozen times, and yet I didn't like anything that I wrote. I'm hoping you guys like it, and reviews are always helpful ;)_


	9. Chapter 9

Noah raised his eyebrows up, waiting for the rest of her explanation. "Rache..." he mumbled, "what do you mean?" he felt a little hurt suddenly. Did she think that he was just going to be different if they hadn't done it right then and there? She walked closer to him, and wrapped her arms around his thicker neck. He inhaled deeply, and forced himself to calm down. He had a tendency to let his anger rule everything he did; maybe it was time to tear a page out of Rachel's book and wait. The normally in your face Rachel wasn't there, she was so vulnerable at this moment. "Rachel...you know I am willing to wait for that; its not going to change any feelings I have for you," she sighed against him, and he relaxed.

"I'm sorry about that Noah," she admitted, pulling away lightly. "I understand if you are angry with me," before his eyes, Rachel's shield against people hurting her was being built back up. He shook his head, and brought her back to his body.

"Stop apologizing," he mumbled, "I'm not that guy anymore...I'm not going to hurt you Rache..." he promised.

"I know that..." she replied, "I'm going to do better to remember that," she said, placing a kiss on his lips, "You are one of the best things that has happened to me," she admitted, making him grin an actual grin.

"I think you got that backwards," he murmured. "So...are we good now?" he questioned, running his hands through her long locks.

"Yeah...I think so," she said. Alex had heard most of what was going on, and she frowned. She walked over to them, and wrapped her arms around both of them. "Hey you..." Rachel cooed, "found a movie for us to watch?" she questioned.

"I think I wanna go hang out with my friends instead," she said.

"Are you sure Alex?" Noah questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You know we don't mind you hanging around don't you?" she nodded her head.

"I just want to go hang out with Sammie today," she said.

"Well...go ahead and call her and I'll drive you over," Alex bounded out of the room, and Noah turned back to his girlfriend. It would be nice to just have a weekend with just her. Sure he didn't mind that Alex tagged along; he loved his little sister. The even better part was that Rachel cared for her like she was her sister too. "So...how about we go get something to eat and then we can go see a movie or something?"

"That sounds really good Noah," she admitted. Noah smiled, and heard Alex running down the stairs. "Did your friend answer her phone?" Rachel questioned. She nodded her head, "Alright...go grab your jacket and me and Noah will be ready," Alex nodded her head, and they quickly got ready. Noah grabbed his big jacket, and pulled out one of Rebecca's jackets for Rachel. "What's that for?" she questioned. He brought it around her shoulders.

"That's for when it gets cold," he informed her.

"I like your letterman jacket though," she pouted lightly. He wrapped his arms around her, and pressed his lips against her forehead.

"I love you," he responded, and then helped her into the jacket. She grinned and blushed, and kissed him on the lips. She thought back towards when she was about to break up with Noah on the bleachers and she realized how much growing up they had done in the few short months they had been dating. Noah looked at her and she smiled in return. She had been really spacey lately it was starting to worry about her.

"Love you too," she responded. He looked at her, but didn't say anything. He kept his arm around her as Alex came running back down the stairs. As they walked out towards his truck, Noah couldn't help but bring Rachel closer to his body. He opened up the passenger door and helped little Alex into the car. Rachel followed behind her and he closed the door. He turned on the ignition, and it rumbled to life. He turned on the heater, and headed towards his little sister's friends house. When they got to the house Alex bounded out of the car.

"Call mom when you get inside to let her know where you are at ok?" Noah called out. He saw her nod her head, and then he turned to his girlfriend. "So what would you like to do?" he questioned in a soft voice. She had the impression that she may have worried her boyfriend. Things had been a little tense since the incident last night. He took her hand in his, and headed towards the direction of the movie theater. She squeezed his hand lightly, and let a smile grace her features.

"Whatever you want," she said. This was different than she ever remembered dreaming about when being in a relationship. She needed to prove to Noah that she was very happy in their relationship. After her little episode this morning, it needed to be done. Noah seemed to relax after a moment and then he returned her smile. He parked the car, and as soon as they were both out they were walking towards the complex. As they got closer, he thought that he saw Quinn's car there, but he shook his head. Maybe Quinn was here with Finn after all. "What movie are we going to see?" she questioned, shaking him out of his stupor.

"Well..I know you wanted to see that crappy Twilight movie," he said with a grimace. Rachel shook her head, shocking him. "Seriously? That is all what the girls talk about in school," he said lightly.

"Well..that whole saga started to bore me since it became popular," she replied, leaning into his body. Before they hit the theater, a car passed them, and Noah stopped in his tracks. There was no way that it could be him, could it? "Noah?" she questioned softly. His whole body was tense and he had a snarl on his face. "Noah," she said again, in a firmer voice. Hearing his girlfriend call out his name, he looked towards her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Do...do you think we can postpone the movie?" he asked, feeling guilty. He just had to be sure it wasn't the person he despised coming back into his and his family's lives. She nodded her head, and he threw his arm around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she questioned.

"I..." he ran a hand through his mohawk, "I think I saw my dad," he murmured. She snuggled up closer to him, and felt him relax lightly. He rarely ever spoke about his dad to anyone. "I don't know what is going to happen if that really is him," he said, trying to focus on driving. Her hand was on top of his, and he knew that even if it was his father that things were going to be alright. The drive was uncomfortably silent, and Rachel wished that she could find a way to console her boyfriend. "I'm ok Rache..." he breathed.

_I am so so so so so sorry! I have been so busy as of lately, so I haven't had time to update on many of my fics. I'm sorry its so short, but I thought better a short update, than no update at all. Anyways, hope you enjoy!_


	10. Chapter 10

Noah Puckerman let out a sigh as he continued to drive further away from the movie theater. Had his mom kept in contact with his dead beat father? "Where are we going?" she questioned, placing a hand on top of hers. He squeezed her hand gratefully, and felt comfort in her grasp.

"I…I don't even know," he mumbled, "I just hope that my mom isn't talking with him again; they were always fighting when they were together…" Rachel squeezed his hand once more, and looked up at him.

"You don't even know if that was him Noah…" she said to him. "And if it is him…if it his him," she repeated, "we will cross that bridge when it gets here," she assured him. "Things are going to be alright, I promise," he smiled once more, slowly feeling better about the whole situation.

"Thanks Rache," he said softly. "How about we just do a movie marathon at my place for a little while?" he suggested, trying to forget about maybe seeing his father. As he pulled up into the driveway, he saw another car there. There he saw his dad knocking on the door. His eyes didn't betray them; it was hard to see him after all of these years. "That's…that's him," he said, getting out of the car.

"Excuse me…is this still the Puckerman residence…" his father started to ask, and then saw the angry look on Noah's face. "Noah…is that you?" he questioned, looking shocked about how much he had grown up. "Is this your…"

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled at his father. "Trying to take more money from us for drugs, alcohol?" He heard Rachel coming up from behind him, and he put his arm out, holding her behind him.

"No…its not that at all," he tried to explain.

"Get out of here…right now," Noah snapped at him.

"Alright….I'll leave for now and let you calm down, but let your mother and your sister know that I am staying at the Motel 6 just a couple miles away alright?" he walked away, staying away from Noah and Rachel. Noah angrily unlocked the door, and Rachel followed him inside. He slammed the door, and locked it.

"God damn it!" he growled, punching a wall. When he pulled his fist away, there was a hole in the wall, and his knuckles were bleeding. He reared back his balled up hand to punch again, but Rachel grabbed his wrist.

"Noah stop," she said, as he shook off her grip. "Noah!" she cried out as he punched the wall once again. Finally his body went slack, and she was able to pull him away from the wall and towards the kitchen. She turned on some water, and made sure that it was warm before putting his hand under it. He grimaced lightly as she began to gently wash the wound. She grabbed a couple paper towels, and dried off his hand lightly. "Where's your bandages?" she questioned. With his uninjured hand he pointed under the sink, and she opened up the drawer.

She grabbed some gauze and tape. She pressed the gauze to the wound and began taping it up. As soon as she was finished, she kissed his hand lightly. She then wrapped her arms around his waist, and felt his encircle her as well. "Sorry," he murmured; it had been a very long time since he had exploded like that.

"It's alright," she assured him. She led him to the couch, and had him sit down while she grabbed a rag from the linen closet. She cleaned up the blood on the wall, and threw the cloth in the wash.

"Rachel…what are you doing?" Noah questioned.

"Helping," she said simply. He got up from the couch, and wrapped his arms around her. "Noah…babe you should relax," she murmured to him.

"You shouldn't be cleaning up my messes," he said to her. He looked towards the wall and frowned. "Mom's gonna be disappointed," he sighed looking at the impressive sized hole. "I haven't been that mad since he left…" he looked down at her and she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Ever since everyone found out about the baby…" he started to admit, "Things at home haven't been great. I think Mom is really disappointed in me," she led him back to the couch. She turned on the tv and leaned against her boyfriend.

"I think your mom is just shocked more than anything…maybe we should have talked to your mom before the whole school spread it around like wild fire," she mused, "but since its not that way, its going to be a little bit tougher, but its not going to be impossible," she murmured, as she felt him draw her in closer. "Besides Noah," she said, feeling a smile come to her face, "you are a badass, you can handle anything that comes your way," he pulled away lightly with a huge grin gracing his features. He kissed her lovingly and pulled away.

"Of course I'm a bad ass," he replied, with his cocky smirk in place. "Thanks Rache," he said with a grateful sigh. She nodded her head and he found himself looking down at the job Rachel did with bandaging up his hand. It looked almost as good as his mom would do wrapping it up. If she got bored with Broadway she probably wouldn't make a half-bad nurse; well maybe if she stopped using such big words anyways he thought to himself. Noah looked down, and saw that his girlfriend had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled lightly, watching the diva persona she hardly ever kept slip off completely. She looked like any normal seventeen year old girl without any problems in the world. Even after everything he had put her through she had given him another chance. Things weren't perfect in his life, but they were better than they had been in a long time. His father coming back into the picture was not going to ruin the life he had begun to build for himself.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes feeling himself calm down. When he had opened his eyes once more, he was met without Rachel in his arms. He rubbed his eyes, and saw his Mom and Rachel talking. He looked at the hole that he had made in the wall, and saw that someone had patched it up. "God damn it," he murmured, standing up to his feet.

"Hey Noah," his mom said, walking over to him. She was looking down at her hands, guilt etched into her features. "I know I haven't been there really since I've found out about Quinn and everything, but know that I love you ok?" she murmured.

"Mom…I know that," he said, trying to get to the point of that his and Alex's father was back. "Look…he's-,"

"I know he is back honey," Rebecca whispered bitterly. Noah took that as a good sign, his mom was mad. They weren't getting back together once again. "He is claiming that he is sober once more. He wants to see you and Alex. I don't know about this, but he said he is willing to go to court to try and fight me on this…" she felt her lip quivering.

"Mom…he can't do that," Noah said, "Can he?"

"He might be able to…but if it makes you feel better," Rachel started up, "I talked with Daddy, and he agreed to be your lawyer if it comes to it, free of charge," his mother was about to open her mouth but Rachel cut her off, "It's alright, my family is always this giving," she assured them. The Puckermans just nodded their heads, and before Rachel knew it Noah's arms were around her, drawing her in tight. She hugged him back, and he was barely containing himself. Rebecca smiled at the young couple, and started to make some dinner.

"Rachel…why don't you call your dads, and let them know they are invited to dinner,"

"Will do…" Rachel said, as Noah reluctantly let her out of his embrace. She walked over and grabbed her cell phone. She walked back over towards Noah as she started to call her Dads. He smiled as she leaned into him, and he had his arms around her once more. They helped Rebecca with dinner, and before they knew it, Rebecca was picking up Alex from dance practice.

Soon Noah was feeling completely at ease, him and his sister poking fun; his family was getting along with the Berrys. Even though the threat of their father potentially going to court was looming over their heads, but that was a worry for another day.

_I know that is shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoyed it _


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts guys! And I apologize for the lack of updating, my laptop crashed; so its just been dropping on a friend's laptop, or mom's desktop to update LOL. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. _

Noah Puckerman bitterly turned off his computer; he had been looking for ways to stonewall his dad from getting anywhere near him or his family. So far there had been no luck. He couldn't shake the images from his past where he would see his Dad freaking out because he hadn't had a hit of drugs for a few days. Noah growled, and grabbed his keys; he needed to get away for a while. Before he could storm out of his house, his cell phone started to go off. From the Sweet Caroline ring tone, he immediately knew that it was Rachel. "Hey Rache," he murmured, answering his phone.

"Hi Noah," she took a deep breath, and he knew a long winded speech was about to erupt from her mouth. "I was doing some meticulous research about divorces, and abandonment, which there is an astonishing-,"

"Rachel…honey," he whispered huskily. He was trying not to be mean to her; in all honesty he just wanted a break. He appreciated everything she was doing, but maybe just a day alone with her would get his mind off of things.

"What's wrong Noah?" she questioned, noticing the tone of his voice.

"Nothing babe," he lied, "are you busy right now?" he questioned softly. He heard rustling in the background, and then Rachel's voice appeared on the other line.

"Not anymore," she said to him.

"Good…I'm going to come pick you up ok?" he questioned.

"Alright…" before he could hang up she stopped him by whispering, "Noah…I love you," hearing that from her, made him calm down slightly.

"Love you too Rache," he closed his cell phone. He walked down the stairs and found his mother humming to his little sister. It was nice to see his mom getting back to normal. "Hey Mom," he called out softly; trying not to disturb his little sister. "I'm going out with Rachel for a while," Rebecca looked to her son.

"Ok Noah," she said to him. "Noah…" she whispered, heading over to him. "I know you have been stressing out, but when you are with Rachel…please try and relax?" she questioned. He nodded his head, and she smiled. "Alright, if you need anything we will be home ok?"

"Thanks Ma," he mumbled, pulling his surprised his mother into a hug. "I'll see you later," he smiled, and then headed over towards his truck. He slowly started to find himself calming down and looking forward to seeing his girlfriend. She had this insane ability to make him be him, and he knew he had this calming effect on her. As he slowed down to the front of her house, he saw a couple of guys in front of her house. He opened up the door, and walked over to the guys. "What are you doing?" he questioned, and he saw them with eggs and toilet paper. "Get the fuck out of here!" he growled, scaring off the group of teens. He was shaking; he was barely resisting the urge to go after them to beat the ever living crap out of them. Noah took a deep breath, and headed towards the front of the house. He rang the doorbell, and he heard something behind the door. "Rachel…" Noah softly called out. The door was thrown open, and Rachel pulled him inside. "Babe…what's wrong?" he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her.

"I…" she sighed, and snuggled into him. As he inhaled, it smelt like she had just gotten out of the shower. Her hair was damp.

"What did they do to you?" he questioned, feeling a bigger anger fueling inside of him than when he saw his dad.

"It's nothing Noah," she said, pulling away from his embrace. He shook his head, and burying her body against his. "Noa-,"

"Rachel, don't you dare lie to me," he mumbled, "Please…" she nodded her head, and looked up to his face.

"They threw some eggs-," she shuddered, not wanting to think about the unborn babies that were supposed to come out of it.

"They aren't going to hurt you ever again," he promised, running his hands through her hair. He wished that he was there earlier, to save her from this. "Well…I was going to suggest going out for food or something-,"

"Let's do that," she whispered. "Let's just do something to get my mind off of this…please?" she questioned. He finally nodded his head, but kept his arms encircled around her. "Really I'm alright," she whispered, running her hands up and down his tense back. He was still resisting the urge to hunt down the people that hurt his girl. Rachel reached up and cupped his face in her hands. She pulled him down, and pressed a kiss to his lips. He let out a sigh through his nose, and finally felt some of the stress leaving him.

"I'm sorry Rache," he murmured. "So what do you want to do?" he questioned, trying to get his mind off of his and her problems. She suddenly pulled him towards her couch, and they sat down. Was they were settled on the couch, he found himself content holding her in his arms.

"What's going on with you?" she questioned, noticing the silence.

"Let's not talk about this right now," he murmured, running a hand through her long locks. She looked up at him, and was about to open her mouth. "Babe…I promised that we wouldn't talk about what was bugging-,"

"I'm sorry," she apologized, looking downwards. He didn't like the uncomfortable silence around them, and he knew that maybe if he opened up he'd feel better. It wasn't like they'd do anything else until Rachel felt better or was in help mode.

"Don't worry about it," he murmured, brushing his lips across her forehead. "With everything going at school, the looks we…I…get from everyone and my dad coming back…" he sighed lowly. "It's just been building up," instead of one of her classic Rachel Berry speeches, she moved up to his embrace. She placed a kiss on his lips, and tightened her arms around him. "Then those assholes throwing-,"

"Well you scared them off before they could really unload on me or the house," she whispered, "and I'm better that you are here," that made him smile, and she snuggled against him. "I'm glad that you're here," she murmured.

"Me too," he admitted softly. "You're the only girl for the Puckerone," he murmured with a smirk.

"Don't know where I would be without your guns," she laughed, placing a hand on one of his biceps. He felt at peace for the first time in a long time. He tightened his arms around her.

"Babe…" he mumbled, "I have been so worried about my dad coming back to get custody of us just to start stealing money again," he felt himself stiffen as he thought about his past. "But in the far back of my mind, I am wondering if he really was back for us,"

"There is only one way to find out," she whispered, "maybe you could talk to him,"

"If…if I do talk to him," he murmured, running his hands through her hair, "could…could you be there?" he questioned. She wasn't expecting this reaction at all from him; he wasn't mad just being open and honest with her.

"Of course," she said to him. Her body was suddenly crushed against his, and his lips were pressed on top of hers.

"Thank you," he kept thanking her in between kisses. "I love you so much Rache," he murmured.

"Love you too," she mumbled against his lips. He felt so blessed to have her in his life, and now that things were better in his life, he was starting to strive for better things.

"So...do you want to stay here?" he questioned, "we could go out for a little while," he offered. She shook her head; she was content just staying home today. A part of her could have sworn that Jesse St. James was apart of the crowd that had tossed eggs at her. She didn't want to mention it to her boyfriend until she knew for sure.

"I'm going to go make us some lunch," Rachel said, hopping out of his arms. Before he could snake her back in, Noah heard the doorbell ring. She looked at him, fear entering her eyes once more.

"I'll get it," he promised, "It's ok," he smiled reassuringly, and then opened up the front door. He saw a couple guys running away; there was a box on her porch. He looked through the box to make sure that there wasn't anything in the box to hurt her. Looks like he was going to have to bring out his guns again. Ever since her car got vandalized, he had made sure that there was a school-wide ban on ever hurting Rachel or Glee ever again.

"Noah?" she questioned, hanging a couple feet behind the door.

"It's ok babe," he said over his shoulder. "They're gone," He offered up his hand and gently brought her to the door. Her body relaxed, "Do…do you want to see what's in the box?" he questioned. She bit her lip; she wasn't sure what she would find in there. "I can throw it out if you want," he offered.

"No…bring it inside," she murmured reluctantly. He shook his head, and picked up the box, and brought it into the living room. "I just…" she cleared her voice after it appeared shaky, "I just made some sandwiches," Noah carefully put the box on the coffee table, and then walked back to his girlfriend. He embraced her, and kissed her on the lips. He suddenly brought her into his arms. "Noah," she squealed, and he smirked. He pressed his lips against hers.

"Much better," he pulled away, and she seemed much more relaxed. "Let's…lets just ignore the box today," he whispered. She shook her head, and tried to approach the box.

"It's better to get over with," she assured him, giving his arm a squeeze. He reluctantly followed her to the living room again, and she began searching through the box. As she looked through the box, she found a picture of a baby. She felt the color drain from her face; she would know that'd baby face anywhere.

"Rachel?" Noah questioned softly. She walked towards the little shrine of Rachel her dads' had set up. She found an identical picture of herself, but not in a woman's arms. "Babe…" he whispered, as she began to shake.

"Why…why after all this time does she want to reach out?" she questioned. He gently turned her around, and brought her gaze to his.

"Who?" he questioned, lightly rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"My biological mother," she said, showing Noah the picture of a newborn Rachel being held by her mother.

_I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :D_


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